Tier 1 Auto Supplier Passes Safe Launch In Automotive Manufacturing

Pollington Machine Tool is a family-owned contract manufacturer specializing in fabrication, metalworking, and final assembly. They recently became a Tier 1 supplier in automotive manufacturing for an electric vehicle OEM. As part of their new contract, they had to pass the safe launch phase—a critical milestone ensuring zero-defect production before scaling up manufacturing.

Their task? Assemble 4,000 vehicle side rails—2,000 left-side and 2,000 right-side—without a single defect. However, relying on paper-based work instructions proved to be a major obstacle.

What is Safe Launch in Automotive Manufacturing?

Safe launch is a critical quality control process in automotive manufacturing that ensures a new supplier or production line can consistently produce defect-free parts before full-scale production begins. OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) require suppliers to complete a designated number of flawless assemblies—often in the thousands—without a single defect. This process helps identify potential risks, improve process stability, and prevent costly recalls or disruptions once mass production starts. For Tier 1 suppliers like Pollington Machine Tool, passing safe launch is essential to maintaining supplier credibility and securing long-term contracts with major automotive brands.

Challenges

• Complexity of Assembly – The side rails are vehicle chassis that contain batteries, motors, electronic components, suspensions, wheels, and base structures. Each side rail contained 30 components, from machined extrusions to clips and crush tubes.
• Error-Prone Processes – Paper instructions in physical binders proved insufficient for operators to learn and be consistent in building complex assemblies.  Manufacturing engineer Chris Stewart said, "We'd complete hundreds of assemblies only for one to be missing a clip. That reset the counter to zero, and we'd start over to assemble 2,000 units." 
• Skilled Labor Shortages – Located in Marion, Michigan (population around 900), Pollington faced difficulties hiring skilled workers. Many operators are Spanish-speaking, requiring onsite interpreters.
• Traceability Issues – If a quality concern arose, Pollington needed to quickly isolate and identify affected parts to keep production moving. Engineering Manager Brian Priddle said, "As a Tier 1 in automotive, you must have tight traceability. If there's a quality concern, you need to be able to react very quickly to identify and isolate those parts. The OEMs need answers in minutes to keep their production lines running."
  
  With strict OEM standards and tight production timelines, Pollington needed a modern solution to meet safe launch requirements in automotive manufacturing. Stewart added "Through the old way of doing everything on paper, it's kind of hard to find the information you need if there are questions." Searches could take hours.

Say Goodbye to Pen and Paper

Pollington implemented digital work instructions software which allowed them to easily upload images with annotations and video explanations. Work instructions are written in both English and Spanish and PICO's process variant feature enables quick and easy updates to both versions.  Pollington’s operators follow each step of the side rail assembly with digital worker guidance that consists of colorful multimedia and annotations. Before advancing to the next operation, the software verifies that all torque values and sequences have been followed. The error-proofing is instantaneous. Stewart said, "It is easy to follow along with the instructions. You could build the assembly without any prior training."

The assembly area inside Pollington Machine Tool

The visual worker guidance prompts the factory operator on what to do next, and if they are building product correctly. It is a gatekeeper in the background, and not disruptive to their daily flow of things. 

Operator works with a rivet gun at Pollington Machine Tool while following PICO's digital worker guidance

"We spent about a week developing our system. Then, we spent two to three days making sure everything was in place, including training. In less than two weeks, we were analyzing the manufacturing data, " said Stewart. 

Safe Launch Success: Outcomes in 12 Months

By implementing digital work instructions, Pollington passed safe launch in just one month—a game-changer for their automotive manufacturing operations.

Key Outcomes:

• Zero-defect production achieved within one month
• 18 workstations connected
• 100+ assembly processes digitized
• 56 tools integrated for traceability and error-proofing
• Instant serial number tracking for quality issues

Hear Pollington Machine Tool talk more about their experience in working with Pico MES’s manufacturing execution system.

"If we had everything on paper organized in a three-ring binder, it'd be nearly impossible to go through all the instructions. They'd be constantly flipping the pages back and forth," said Stewart.

 

The Future Of Digital Manufacturing At Pollington

With safe launch behind them, Pollington is expanding its integration of PICO to further improve efficiency and customer transparency. With each achievement, more ideas on how and where to use it were springing up, such as integrating more off-the-shelf connected tools into the digital workflow. Priddle shared their next steps:

• Enhancing real-time traceability – Potentially giving customers direct access to data without needing to call.
• Collecting manufacturing data for continuous improvement– By digitizing work instructions and tracking every step of the assembly process, Pollington is building a rich dataset of data and analytics. These data points provide a real-time view of process efficiency, defect rates, cycle times, and operator performance. Pollington’s next goal is to leverage this historical data for continuous improvement
• Integrating more IOT smart tools for error-proofing – Automating data capture from more tools, devices and machines, for real-time error detection. PICO's device library has over 200 options for integrations and continues to add 3-5 per month based on customers' requests. 

Priddle closed with, "We're going to start collecting every piece of data we can in Pico MES. The traceability with digital data records opens up many possibilities for continuous improvement."

Next Steps

1.  Sign up for a forever-free license to PICO's digital work instructions software and start your digital journey 

2.  Hear Chris Stewart from Pollington share more details about the safe launch process and the value of traceability in this  on-demand webinar with Assembly Magazine

3. Download our Traceability Implementation Checklist to move beyond manual, outdated systems.